On 4 August, the Pechersk District Court in Kyiv imposed preventive measures on five officials from the State Emergency Service suspected of violating flight safety rules that led to a helicopter crash in Brovary town in Kyiv Oblast.
Ukraine’s Minister of Internal Affairs Denys Monastyrskyy, the Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs Yevhen Yenin, and State Secretary of the Ministry of Internal Affairs Yurii Lubkovych were on board the helicopter that fell on a kindergarten on 18 January, 2023. All of them died.
Helicopter crash kills Ukrainian interior ministry leaders, children in Kyiv suburb (updating)
In addition, nine people died, and 29 were injured, including 15 kids, according to the Head of Kyiv Oblast Administration, Oleksii Kuleba.
According to the investigation, the officials did not cancel the flight of the Ministry of Internal Affairs delegation despite weather conditions, and the helicopter itself was not designated for such flights, Suspilne reports.
Additionally, the crew did not have permits to take off in challenging weather conditions and necessary certificates.
The court ruled two months of detention without bail for the head of the aviation search and rescue department of the State Emergence Service, Ivan Korobets, deputy commander of the unit, Volodymyr Leonov, as well as the officials from the State Emergency Service, Andrii Dvornik and Oleh Ivanov.
In his comments to journalists, Ivan Korobka denied accusations and said he would appeal to challenge the court’s decision. He claimed he acted in accordance with rules and added that the crew’s qualifications allowed the transportation of the top officials.
Andrii Dvornik, another official from the State Emergency Service, was suspected of violating safety rules on air transport.
Another suspect in the case, Oleg Ivanov, also rejected the accusations, saying that a minister should have made a decision about the flight.
